The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current, May 21, 2023, Image 1
Honestly Local Investigator: Shootings were over a woman Guillermo Vazquez- Martinez, 43, attends a committal hearing Friday, May 19. He is charged with attempted murder in the shooting of two men outside a Ross Dress For Less earlier this year. BEN ANDERSON The Times attempted murder in incident outside Ross Man charged with BY BEN ANDERSON banderson@gainesvilletimes.com A Gainesville man shot two men in front of Ross Dress for Less in January after he learned one was dating his ex girlfriend, according to testimony by a Gainesville Police investigator on Friday. Guillermo Vazquez-Martinez, 43, has been charged with attempted murder in the shootings at the Village Shoppes on Dawsonville Highway. Glenn Ewing of the Gainesville Police Department said the double shooting resulted from a dispute over a woman. “When I asked them why this hap pened, they said it was over a girl,” Ewing said of his interviews with the two victims, Juan Carlos Serrano, 31, and Uriel Ortega, 22, who are brothers- in-law, he added. The shooting occurred around 6:45 p.m. Jan. 30 by the entrance of Ross Dress For Less, police said. Vazquez-Martinez has also been charged with aggravated assault against both men, and aggravated bat tery against Serrano. Ewing said Serrano was shot “at least five times” with a .38 caliber revolver and had to have his leg amputated. He said the gun wasn’t recovered but that they found unspent .38 caliber rounds at the scene. Serrano may have taken the worst of shooting, he said, but he was not the intended target. “Uriel was actually supposed to be the subject of that attack. It just hap pened to be that Juan Carlos inter jected himself in the middle of it and ended up being on the receiving end of the bullets,” he said. “She said that she used to be in a relationship with Guillermo while they lived in Mexico and when they had come to the United States... she ended ■ Please see COURT, 3A Population surge W ^ m-L, ■■■hti jtn.ti r *ir " j 4 - V A ZTTVt Photos by SCOTT ROGERS I The Times Oakwood is the fastest-growing city in Hall County, with population spiking 23% in two years, according to the latest census estimates. Gainesville, other Hall cities growing rapidly Oakwood is the fastest-growing city in Hall County, with population spiking 23% in two years, according to the latest census estimates. Census population estimates Here’s a look at the latest population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau of cities predominantly in Hall County: 2022 2020 % Increase Clermont 1,125 1,027 9.5% Flowery Branch 10,938 9,512 15% Gainesville 45,282 42,655 6.2% Gillsville 308 301 2.3% Lula 2,963 2,839 4.4% Oakwood 5,975 4,860 23% Census shows BY JEFF GILL jgill@gainesvilletimes.com With a flurry of new apart ment buildings and other housing out of the ground or on the way, Gainesville’s pop ulation continues to surge. As part of a nationwide report released this week, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that Gainesville was at 45,282 residents as of July 1, 2022, up from the 2020 estimate of 42,655, an increase of 2,627 residents. Gainesville appears to have passed Newnan in population. Newnan had 42,855 people in 2020, but like Gainesville, is also fast-growing and is now estimated at 44,485 people. Gainesville grew by 6.2% the past two years, the high est rate of population growth among Georgia cities its size or larger. It is also second only to South Fulton city in numerical growth among that group of cities. South Fulton, which became a city in 2017, grew from 108,218 in 2020 to 111,158 in 2022, or 2,940 resi dents. It grew by 2.7%. Hall County’s county seat is closing in on a key 50,000 pop ulation marker. Comparison charts released by the Census Bureau in the report focus on cities with populations of 50,000 or more. Gainesville Mayor Sam Couvillon said several factors may play into the city’s rapid growth, including a migra tion from counties closer to Atlanta, such as Gwinnett and Cobb but also from other areas in the U.S. recogniz ing Gainesville as part of the Atlanta area. “We’re situated where we’re convenient to Atlanta, so we’re located nicely, geo graphically,” he said. Gainesville isn’t, however, the fastest growing city in Hall County. That title belongs to its neighbor to the south, Oak- wood. Census estimates show it increased from 4,860 residents in 2020 to 5,975 residents in 2022, or by 23%. Coming in second was Flow ery Branch, which grew from 9,512 to 10,938, or 15%. “When we look at the num ber of housing units Oakwood has approved since 2017, it is probably reflective of an accurate increase,” Council- woman Sheri Millwood said. “I will say we believe the 2020 count for Oakwood was prob ably a little low. So, the (23% increase) is probably a little low as well.” Oakwood City Manager B.R. White said, “I am not surprised by the growth. Oakwood has approved over 2,500 housing units in a little over 5 years. An increase in population does come with an increase in service demand for the local governments across the board.” Couvillon also said that with higher numbers comes bigger challenges, particu larly traffic. He said that’s a big push for Gainesville as it tries to improve key arteries such as Green Street and Dawson ville Highway. He also noted that a planned Nov. 7 vote on a transportation special pur pose local option sales tax, or TSPLOST, that, if passed, might bring about “transfor mational changes in traffic patterns.” TSPLOST would involve projects throughout Hall, which, as a whole, is also growing rapidly. The latest population esti mates show Hall had 212,692 people, as of July 1, 2022, or a 4.7% increase from 203,136 in 2020. The data also shows Hall grew at a 2.6% clip between 2021 and 2022, compared to 1.8% between 2020 and 2021. At the 2.6% rate, Hall’s pop ulation could be on pace for 218,222 people by July 1,2023. Home values in Hall spike property taxes BY BRIAN WELLMEIER bwellmeier@gainesvilletimes.com Since receiving assessment notices in the mail, many homeowners across Hall County are seeing sharp increases in the assessed value of their homes. For people like Babette Baker, the appreci ated figures come with higher property taxes. Baker, who lives on a fixed income, saw the appraised value of her Flowery Branch home reach $385,000 just last year. Now that her prop erty has been reassessed at $415,000, Baker is now faced with a $4,356 tax bill — a $1,200 increase since last year. With inflation driving up costs across every sector of the U.S. economy, Baker fears that she can no longer afford to live there. “It’s extreme in my opinion... it’s excessive,” Baker said. “They’re taxing people out of their homes.” Similar to industrial and commercial prop erties, Hall County Chief Appraiser Steve Wat son cited specific methods used by his office to calculate residential property values — but the overall formula for doing so is mostly dependent on the market. While the process is regulated by Georgia’s Department of Revenue, assessment figures are largely driven by activ ity in the real estate market from the previous year. In 2022, he said, Hall County had both greater sales activity and rising home values. Data provided by the tax assessor’s office indicates that 3,982 residential single family units were sold in Hall County last year for an average price of $431,163. ■ Please see TAXES, 3A Judge: UMC churches can vote to leave BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com A Cobb County judge ruled Tuesday, May 16, that a group of United Methodist churches — including three from Hall County — can con tinue with the process to disaffiliate from the North Georgia Conference. Cobb County Superior Court Judge J. Stephen Schuster made the ruling Tuesday after a hear ing regarding the group of more than 180 Meth odist churches, who filed a lawsuit in March. Three churches in Hall were listed in the law suit: Highlands United Methodist and Redwine United Methodist, both of Gainesville, as well as Lula United Methodist. The recent surge of churches seeking to disaffiliate from the United Methodist Church began with debate over same-sex marriage and LGBTQ+ clergy in the past few years. Paragraph 2553 of the United Methodist Church’s “Book of Discipline” offers a process to disaffiliate from the denomination, but it was paused by the North Georgia Conference. David Gibbs III, president and general coun sel of the National Center for Life and Liberty, previously characterized it to The Times as a “collective loss of confidence in what the con ferences are doing.” Following Tuesday’s ruling, Gibbs said the churches were pleased with the outcome. “The fact that they felt heard by the court is a good feeling,” Gibbs said. “They feel vindicated in the position they’ve taken. ” If two-thirds of a church’s members vote in favor of disaffiliation, then the conference trust ees negotiate a disaffiliation agreement with the ■ Please see UMC, 3A